During the final years of the Obama administration, McConnell’s mission was to slow-walk or straight-up block the president’s judicial nominees, including, notably, Supreme Court pick Merrick Garland. In the era of Trump, McConnell is committed to doing the exact opposite — with the goal of jamming through judicial nominees at a breakneck pace.

Democrats on the committee such as Sens. Mazie Hirono (Hawaii) and Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) want to see changes under Graham’s leadership, chief among them the restoration of what’s known as the blue-slip rule. Click here to read more.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., likely sank the hopes of about three dozen judicial nominees for being confirmed any time soon, saying Wednesday he would object to advancing any of them swiftly before the end of the year.

Vice President Mike Pence broke a Senate tie Tuesday afternoon to confirm Jonathan Kobes, 51-50, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, approving the nomination of a congressional lawyer whom a ratings committee deemed “not qualified.”

The Senate advanced a nominee for a North Carolina federal trial court seat by a razor-thin margin on Wednesday with Vice President Mike Pence stepping in to break a 50-50 tie, but the nomination could still falter amid concerns about the candidate’s record on voting rights and Senate wrangling over a bill to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

Raleigh attorney Thomas Farr, who has been nominated four times by two Republican presidents for a federal judgeship in the eastern district of North Carolina, is scheduled for his first vote before a full and divided Senate on Wednesday afternoon.